New Holden Commodore VF

That performance-focused set-up will also see it exported to the United States where it will be sold in relatively small numbers (about 5000 annually), the first time a Holden has been exported there since 2009.

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Despite the hype and hoopla for a car claimed to be the most advanced ever produced locally – all VF Commodores will be able to park themself and some have advanced crash avoidance technology - the reality is fewer people will buy one.

Holden boss Mike Devereux concedes the new VF Commodore won’t get close to selling in the numbers previous generations have due to a fundamental shift in the new-car market that has seen more brands and a greater diversity of choices from each manufacturer. Relaxing of import tariffs and a strong Australian dollar also haven’t helped.

“The time for any one vehicle of any nameplate from any company to sell one tenth of the cars in any county is an illogical assumption,” say Devreux. “It doesn’t happen anywhere on the planet. That’s got nothing to do with Commodore - that’s human taste, that’s fragmentation of markets.”

That realisation has allowed Holden to focus more on private buyers who typically pay more for a car but demand more style and more features than the fleets that have typically accounted for the bulk of Commodore sales.

“The job that each car in the portfolio has to do is very different from the job those vehicles were asked to do 10 years ago.”

While Devereux has confirmed the Commodore nameplate will live on in a car that will be produced in Australia, it will be based on a global design. In other words it will be a car with less emphasis on Australia and Australian conditions and one with more of a global view; it has to be as appealing in Beijing or Boston as it is in Brisbane or Bourke.

So expect the return of a four-cylinder engine in the Commodore. It’s also likely the new 2017 Commodore will do away with its rear-drive layout and instead switch to a front-drive configuration that brings benefits with fuel efficiency and interior space.

The traditionalists will be up in arms. But the reality is there aren’t enough of them to sustain a homegrown, made-for-Aussies Commodore.

These polls are not scientific and reflect the opinion only of visitors who have chosen to participate.

15 comments so far

After owning front wheel drive vehicles for 25 years I purchased a rear wheel driven vehicle in 2006 and I am glad I did. I hope never to ever own a front wheel driven car again. Big mistake to go from a rear wheel drive to a front wheel configuration.

Commenter

DavidB

Location

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 11:10AM

fair enough, but tell us the reasons, the issues why you won't buy FWD again

Commenter

tom

Location

inner west

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 12:56PM

Can Toby poosibly be serious? The end of an era is when something finishes, this is just another chapter in a story that is less than a decade old. If the era is to be defined as Commodores "designed and engineered wholly in Australia almost exclusively for the Australian market", then the era started with VE in 2006. Prior to that all Commodores had been based on Opel platforms, modified for local conditions. Given that total timeframe - VE went on sale in 2006 and VF will continue until 2016, today marks about two-thirds of the way through an era. The era will end when the next Commodore is revealed in 2016 or 2017.

Commenter

MotorMouth

Location

Sydney

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 12:15PM

I know mm, totally with you, this constant doomsaying is ridiculous. The Ford, Toyota, GM end is nigh two or three times a week now. It's ruining the column.

Commenter

addy

Location

perth

Date and time

February 12, 2013, 4:42PM

the styling is massively underwhelming. if thats the best that holden can come up with, then this will be the last commodore.

Commenter

Dave

Location

Brunswick

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 12:34PM

I wonder how many of the 561 out of 841 voters who love it will buy it?Now's the time to prove their passion with the cheque book

Commenter

stevecro

Location

inner west

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 12:55PM

There are lots of cars we all love, unfortunately we can't buy them all. I would love to be able to justify an SV6 or SS but for the amount of driving I do and the fact that my car has to live on a very narrow, winding street, it is just not practical. That doesn't mean I don't love Commodores.

Commenter

MotorMouth

Location

Sydney

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 1:04PM

@MotoMouth - but I seem to recall you posting at the time, how very seriously you considered an SV6 Commodore or an SV8 ute, at the time you purchased your Alfa Brera - a car that cost you more than any new Commodore would have (even a V model), and which would have even less justification for purchase, given your explanation above......

BMW 116? I wonder what I did with that? I have a 1997 318ti, the 1 Series is far too ugly to even contemplate. I bought the Brera in 2009, when I had a garage to keep it in. I was actually on my way to Suttons for a test-drive when I stopped off at the Alfa dealer and saw how cheaply they were dumping Breras at the time. I missed my appointment at Suttons.

I sold the Brera after I moved and it became clear that renting a garage two suburbs away from home was not a viable option. Now I have a used car that I don't have to care or worry about so much. It lives on the street and I haven't washed it in about 6 weeks. The Brera lived in a garage and I used to wash it every week. Going back to a cheap used car has been unexpectedly liberating in many ways.

One of the reasons I didn't end up buying an SV6 ute (I never seriously considered an SS) is that they keep their value too damned well. When I started looking around I discovered that a 2-3 year old SIDI equipped SV6 was only a few grand less than a brand new one. Street parking was another issue but I'd have lived with that if I could have got one at a more affordable price. TBH, I can't imagine the circumstances under which I might ever buy another new car (I may never buy another car at all) but that doesn't make me any less impressed with the VF.

Commenter

MotorMouth

Location

Sydney

Date and time

February 11, 2013, 10:27AM

@MM - fair enough then (I actually meant to say 316, not 116 - but it's a 318 you have, in any case).

But just like you have reasons for not buying Commodore, so do many other people have valid lifestyle/needs-based/living reasons for not buying Commodore - so you shouldn't put down on them by labelling them as "sheeple", as you tend to do.

You don't regard yourself as one of the "sheeple", for not owning a Commodore - do you?